Cognitive Drains

Cognitive drain refers to the idea that uncompleted tasks or unfulfilled desires occupy a portion of our mental energy, reducing the capacity available for actual task completion. The more tasks or desires we juggle, the less cognitive resources we have to take action.
Mental Energy, Uncompleted Tasks, Cognitive Capacity

So each task that you mentally kind of sign up for some part of your mind is actually keeping track of and what we sort of discover psychologically, is that the more things that your mind is keeping track of the less energy it has to actually complete actions.

• Reflect on a time when you felt overwhelmed by the number of tasks or responsibilities you were juggling. How did this impact your ability to take action and make progress?
• What strategies can you implement to minimize cognitive drain and free up mental resources for task completion?

As the number of uncompleted tasks grows, the sense of urgency increases. However, instead of providing motivation, this urgency can lead to a feeling of paralysis, making it even more difficult to take action.
Urgency, Paralysis, Motivation

And this is what’s so confusing for many people. Because as we get tied up with more and more tasks, things become more urgent. And we usually rely on urgency to give us motivation to complete tasks.

• Have you ever experienced a sense of paralysis when faced with a growing list of urgent tasks? What factors contributed to this feeling?
• How can you reframe your relationship with urgency to prevent it from leading to paralysis and instead foster motivation and action?

The concept of cognitive drain has parallels in the spiritual realm, where unfulfilled desires or incomplete actions are seen as “karmic drains” that can bind us in the cycle of birth and rebirth. Completing or releasing these karmic ties is essential for spiritual progress.
Karmic Drains, Unfulfilled Desires, Spiritual Progress

And would this sort of explain this idea of like a karmic drain that if you sort of make a promise to someone, or if you have a desire that is unfulfilled, that that will be something that you essentially have to like finish off in some way. It’s it’s a checkbox that you have to complete.

• How do the concepts of cognitive drain and karmic drain relate to your own understanding of personal growth and spiritual development?
• What unfulfilled desires or incomplete actions might be acting as karmic drains in your own life?

There are two primary ways to address cognitive drains: satisfaction (completing the task or fulfilling the desire) and grief (letting go of the desire or task). Completing tasks frees up mental energy for other pursuits, while grieving unfulfilled desires can release their hold on our minds.
Satisfaction, Grief, Letting Go

So the simplest thing and this is where we can get guidance from both science and spirituality, the simplest thing to understand this there are two ways to address a cognitive drain. One is through satisfaction and one is through grief.

• Think of a task or desire that has been weighing on your mind. What steps can you take to either satisfy or grieve this drain on your mental energy?
• How can you cultivate a practice of regularly addressing cognitive drains through satisfaction and grief?

In addiction recovery, the process of making amends (acknowledging and apologizing for past wrongs) has been shown to increase the likelihood of successful sobriety. This suggests that unburdening the mind from past regrets or unresolved issues can strengthen mental resilience and willpower.
Making Amends, Addiction Recovery, Mental Resilience

And so one of the really interesting discoveries that we sort of made by studying people who overcome addiction is that a lot of them will go through something called a 12 step process. And the interesting thing there is that one of the steps of one of the 12 steps is actually something called making amends. And so this is when you take someone let’s assume that they’re an alcoholic, who stops and like actually thinks about all of the people that they have wronged through their alcohol use. And then what they do is they start picking up the phone and they start making phone calls.

• How might the principle of making amends apply to areas of life beyond addiction recovery?
• What past actions or unresolved issues might be burdening your own mind, and how can you begin the process of making amends?

Whether viewed through the lens of cognitive psychology or spiritual tradition, the importance of unburdening the mind from uncompleted tasks, unfulfilled desires, and unresolved issues is clear. By actively addressing these drains on our mental energy, we can free up cognitive resources for more effective action and personal growth.
Unburdening the Mind, Mental Freedom, Personal Growth

So the nice words that you tell yourself, you’re going to say to other people, or the dreams that you let yourself dream. Each of these is a karmic tie. And that’s why in the cycle of reincarnation, this cycle of birth, death and rebirth, each of our desires is actually viewed as a chain so the book that you tell yourself, you’re going to write the posts that you want to make or that action that you want to do for someone else. Each of these things is a chain that binds you and there are two ways to become unshackled from this. The first is to complete those desires. Or the second is to grieve them.

• Take inventory of the various cognitive and karmic drains that might be burdening your mind. What patterns or themes do you notice?
• Commit to a regular practice of unburdening your mind through satisfaction, grief, and letting go. How might this practice support your personal growth and overall well-being?

By understanding the concept of cognitive and karmic drains and actively working to address them, we can free ourselves from the paralysis of overwhelm and tap into greater reserves of mental energy and resilience for personal growth and effective action.